Today, Netflix announced Studio Ghibli's Oscar and Golden Globe-winning animated film The Boy and the Heron will be making its way to the streamer sometime later this year. However, there's a strong likelihood that creator Hayao Miyazaki's hand-drawn animated film will only be available to Netflix viewers outside the U.S.
Although Netflix's official X/Twitter account teased a yet-to-be-announced release date for The Boy and the Heron on its platform, it was previously reported that Max signed a multiyear agreement with GKIDS to extend its exclusive U.S. streaming rights for Studio Ghibli movies.
The Boy and the Heron is coming to Netflix! 🤩
— Netflix Anime (@NetflixAnime) March 21, 2024
This critically-acclaimed and Oscar-winning fantasy adventure is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, his first feature film in 10 years. Stay tuned for the date! pic.twitter.com/9ZotI6NAlH
Max's extended deal will see The Boy and the Heron join the likes of other award-winning Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Ponyo on the Warner Bros.-owned streaming service sometime later this year. This, in turn, has left many anime fans scratching their heads asking whether the film will have a worldwide release on Netflix.
While Netflix doesn't have exclusive U.S. streaming rights to Ghibli films, Ghibli's catalog of films is available to stream on the platform outside of the U.S. This gives credence to clarifications posited from anime alerts account like @MangaAlerts that The Boy and the Heron will be streaming on Netflix as well, albeit only for folks not residing in the United States.
IGN reached out to Netflix for comment.
In our review of The Boy and the Heron, we wrote, "The Boy and the Heron sees Hayao Miyazaki looking back at a career of telling fantastical stories full of whimsy and wonder. It's Studio Ghibli's most visually complex film to date, while also contemplating the legacy of a legendary filmmaker and the world he is leaving behind. It serves as an ultimate statement from Miyazaki, and the perfect coda to his career."
If you're not subscribed to either streaming service and want to experience the film on the silver screen again, you're in luck because The Boy and the Heron will be getting a celebratory re-release in theaters on March 22 to commemorate its Oscar win.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
